Albert had Buck. Mike had Mike. Richard had Jason and Brian. And now Brook has Ryan.

The NBA can be a scary place for rookie big men and forwards. There is so much to get used to: the speed of the game, the physical aspect, the travel. Everything is new.

So it really helps when there is another rookie along for the ride. Even better, a rookie you’re familiar with. Though Brook Lopez (Stanford) and Ryan Anderson (Cal) might not have been the closest friends, they were at least familiar with each other, having been rivals in the Pac-10.

“My brother Robin was the mean one,” Lopez said jokingly. “I was just indifferent to Ryan either way. But it definitely has helped having him.”

The Nets’ third rookie, Chris Douglas-Roberts, came from Memphis and is a guard, and though he has endured the season with his fellow rookies, he didn’t have the previous history of the frontcourt guys.

The Pac-10 in 2001 produced three Nets rookies: Richard Jefferson (Arizona), Jason Collins (Stanford) and Brian Scalabrine (USC). In 1980, ACC products Mike Gminski (Duke) and Mike O’Koren (North Carolina) began NBA life as Nets. And in 1981, Buck Williams and Albert King not only came from the same conference, they came from the same school, Maryland.

“It helped a lot when you’re on the same college team,” said King. “I’m driving so like (I did at) Maryland, Buck knows I’m going to do this. He has a rebound, I know he’s going to do this. When you play in the same conference, it’s not the same, but it’s similar because you know tendencies. So come into the NBA with someone you know? Invaluable.”

Williams and King made immediate impacts – as did O’Koren and Gminski. And now Lopez and Anderson are doing the same.

“I watched a lot of tape to prepare for Lopez,” said O’Koren, a former Nets assistant, who was let go with Eddie Jordan in Washington this season. “I didn’t think he’d be this good, this quick. He catches, finishes, shoots, plays aggressive, works hard. And he looks comfortable.

“I’m sure it helped having Anderson there. The comfort and camaraderie between Mike and myself when we started coming out of the ACC was tremendous.”

O’Koren offers one piece of advice: Rest whenever, wherever.

“Whenever you can get rest, get it,” said O’Koren, warning every rookie eventually hits the wall. “It will hit. And hit them both.”